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Three and Out: The Demise of Chip Kelly

Exactly a month after I wrote my article “Chip Kelly’s Struggles” which showed my hesitance to fire Chip Kelly, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie pulled the trigger and ended the Chip Kelly era. Many Eagles fans rejoiced at the end of the era as their team moved on from the once heralded “Offensive Genius” who was going to win the Eagles a Super Bowl. Now this team is left in the hands of Pat Shurmur for the final game of the season. Going forward there are so many questions and absolutely no answers. After three seasons, Chip Kelly has come and gone, leaving behind a mess of a rebuild.

Once the Eagles bring a new coach to the nest, three things must happen in order for them to be successful. The first is to find a quarterback that is going to be your guy. It’s easier said then done but as Chip Kelly found out, however it’s a necessity. The next coach has to develop his guy and work beyond one or two years with him. That gives the quarterback enough time to establish chemistry with receivers and coaches to fully reach their potential in the system. Once a quarterback is in place, the franchise can truly build up into a contender and not until then. Aside from that, the organization needs to ride itself of “Kelly’s guys” like defensive coordinator Billy Davis and wide receiver Josh Huff. These are not the only two who must go, but it is a start as the new staff news to clean out the guys who Chip was just too loyal to. Huff was brought in as the Desean Jackson replacement who could go deep and return kicks just as Jackson had returned punts. Huff has been very bad thus far and his hands seem to get worse by the week. He has poses absolutely no threat in the deep passing game as he has been targeted 5 times for only 1 reception and 22 yards (per nflsavant.com). When Kelly ends up in Tennessee, Huff can get his second shot in the NFL, but not here. Billy Davis has been nothing but stubborn on defense and his scheme has been garbage. He should’ve been run out of town awhile ago. This leads me to my next point which is that the Eagles need to establish an identity on defense. They need to pick a scheme that fits the personnel or get personnel to fit the scheme. This isn’t Madden where you just look at free agency and say “hey he looks good!!” and proceed to outbid everyone for free agent who is totally unnecessary and incapable of playing in the defensive scheme. Get the right guys in the right system. With that said, don’t discount talent when making those decisions.

Here’s some Philly advice to the next Eagles coach:

Don’t trade/cut fan favorites and get barely anything in return

Don’t get overconfident in your system and be stubborn

Don’t blow up a 10-6 team

Don’t be a Chip Kelly

If you win, we are going to love you. If not, oh boy you don’t know the kind of wrath coming your way.